Posted 3 years ago on June 5, 2012, 9:52 a.m. EST by cbernard7
(16)
from Coral Springs, FL
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

I've struggled with this concept for a while now. I believe in peaceful protest. I always have. As a black person as well, my heritage has great examples of how peaceful protest can work in this country.

but I look at the way OWS is run, and there's this concept of how we protest peacefully. Not over one single goal but many different goals. We can't try to push one single agenda through the political system because it would be like dropping one pure clean apple in a basket full of rotten ones.

I understand that we cannot accept this system. But the simple fact is that OWS has been going on for a while now-it's getting close to a year now- and still our voices have not been truly heard.

[now bare with me, because I'm getting to a point]

If we cannot push a single agenda through the political pipeline because we do not accept the system/machine in which it must go through,
[and thusly become corrupted]

then how can we protest peacefully in a system that does not allow us to peacefully protest?

how can we acknowledge the corruption of one part of system and protest the political oppression, but then acknowledge the corruption of another part of the system and put our heads down and accept the physical oppression?

I understand that there is so much at risk because of the fact that the US has used all our own money to fund an endless army to squash any sort of rebellion. but at this point in time, how is anything other than a full blown revolution not necessary? or even inevitable?

3 Comments

All peaceful protest movements through time have faced repression. When we deviate from peaceful protest, it gives the establishment a pretext to suppress our freedom of speech through violent means. In other words, violence begets violence. We don't want to provide them with this justification.

I was watching a protest in Wisconsin the other day, and saw a Marine veteran, who opposes Walker, get arrested for merely expressing himself (he didn't lay his hands on anyone). Even though I can't stand Walker, and totally disagree with that protester, I naturally empathized with him. This indicates to me that as long as we stick to nonviolence, even those who disagree with us, will be offended when our right to speak is suppressed.

I see your point. Your saying at the end of the day, the Government's use of violence in the face of our nonviolent protest will unify us, regardless of race, religion, lifestyle, or creed.

I hope you're right. I just think that we have been trained to have too much faith in the integrity of our rights and our democratic process, and I get discouraged, thinking that we may not see a real solution anytime soon due to ignorance of the masses.

If quoting a President of the United States is a "belligerent act" then call any of the 16 CIVILIAN federal agencies currently claiming executive authority to arrest and hold without trial American citizens and tell them I posted this:

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."--Thomas Jefferson